Means for fastening trees to props



Feb. 9, 1932. o. WEBER 1,844,024

MEANS FOR FAsTENING TcREEs fro PRoPs Fiied May 29, 192s Patented Feb.y9, 1932 s 1VQTTOMAKWEBER,joFnArHEN-oN-THE-ELBE,GERMANY v ,jiviEAivs.roR'rAs'izENINGjTREEs I'roy rnorsff `Ap1catioan1edMaij'aejlezs,serial No. asiaoa'na nl Germany Julie 3, 1927. j i f' 'v This inventionrelates vto afdeviceV for-bindving'the stern of a tree to vastake'andrelates "to thatclas's of'devce. consisting y'of a flat metal :straphaving a slotat one end jthrough which c. "'-5`the loosejend of thestrap ispassed afteirthe lstra'pihas been passed .around the treeanclstake tozbind them together. p y lVarious other devices have alreadybeen proposed-for' the purpose,- butthe'y rhave all stern- Y 101nore,or'less sonrie deficiency'or they `are `so reX- ,pensive thatithas notbeen fpossible to 'introduce'them'on Vthevnnarketv Y The device shouldhave a irrnf'ininio'vablese'at on the e'stake and l be capableof easyadjustment. 15'The-lnaterialmustbe able' to Vstand wear. at

:least as long as the tr'eeneeds support. -Fur--tl-1erm,ore,1alldainageto the stern'of the tree `Vmust be'v avoided, i.e'.the vfastening-cont'rivance must be flexible within certain limits,ac-

i 'i v2o 'Cordingto the growth of the tree, being at the saine time abletostand all-strain due to storm 1 v"nwin'd, "It must vbepossiblev toapplyfthe asteningc'ontrivance easily Aan'd reliably, if

'lnake 'uselofit for' the 's'amevvpurpose Lastly, the Vcmitrivan'ceshould 'be as "eheap as pos- ;sible;

-The present'inventionfullills all theabove 3o demands Aand consistsin adevice ofthe'class Ydescribedcomprising a flat metal strapha linglooped,V connector! link permanently Vor looselyattachedto' one end ofthe strap in combination'wthone or more spikesextend- 'f Y 35 inginwards ffr'omthe connector link' or :from

AThe said-.spikes 1 the link end of the strap.V Y "a'eioroedintolthestake and the loose end of the 'strap'is passed throughthe connector lllink t-iforni a'slip-knotV aftervthe strap has M540 been passed'aroundfthe t'reestenrand A.stake to bindthemtogether,v j -4 a l Y K 11amaware that' `a scaold pole clamp-has ,been suggesterdconsisting' ofa'len'gthoffwire screw-threaded at one end which' ispas's'ed 45 throughaloop-jatthe otheriend of the wire Sandsecured a nut l afterv the, wireVhas .been

forming :a spike. f

Tpassed around the poles,` the end ef the loop 'i1-$0 2 connectorlnkismade for ypreference of Wire placing 'the spikes.

v`a strap of somewhat different construction,r where instead' .of theylinka U-shaped stirru'p 5195 having itsfree ends bent-baekatriglhtangles f and loosely'or permanently hungtothe strap, e and one ormore sharp spikes arersituatedY on "the ,Connector link or onthe strap'-immediately near theA connector link.A yThese Spikes,

whi'ohare preferably formed'fof latmetalfg may bel producedy by stampingout the Inaterial offthe'strap, or by riveting -a vU-sha pe d vmetallbracket with spurs, spikes or poi-nts o'n the strap.` lIt would,however,also' be posback.- Alternatively, the Elink itself Vinay carry thespikes.y The linkneed notnecessarily be an endless one; It is alsopossible to give it the form of an r'S3-shaped or? looped connectorstirrup, the free ends of which` are Vprolonged to aboutY the iniddleofthe central bar and terminate in sharp Vpoints; bent back 'at rightangles." Ithepara'llel limbsof the SjshapedY stirrup 'are made-at `rightangles Ato the central bar, thenwith such a st'irrup two 1 straps atVdifferent height and not interfering possible, without the aid of tools,and further vv`7`25 to remove itjustas'easily and to" repeatedly .withone ,anothervv niaybev enployedf s fastening accordingA to thisinvention. Y

Fig. .l shows theplan-viewrofaf strap. i Fig. 2 shows the strap seen'at'rig'ht -anglesm ``Figs. 8 ande show'other possibilitiesof Y Fig;-shows the strap of Fig. l applied to atree. Y

,Figs.f'6,7' and 8 show side Sandvplanlviewsws of a stirrup bent-approximatelyto 4S-shape and suitable forvuse'inplace of a linka- Fig;9 shows this stirrupusei i Fig.` 10- shows the stirrup ofFigallap-.W

Fig. llshows another 'form ofS-shaped stirrup necessitating-'only' onestrap. i

l VFigs. 12 and 13 are plan and side views of l i isernployed.; l 1 Fig.14 shows-thefadaptationfofthis strap Y. to aspecial purpose.

In4 all the drawingsplike. like 25100' (Fig. 3) an independent piece 3acarrying spikes 3?). This construction will be preferred especiallywhere one wishes to employ thin, flexible material, the rigidity ofwhich is not sufficient for forming the spikes. An-

. other possibility is to form one end of the able fastening.

strap 1 into a spike 30 (Fig. l) folded or bent back at right anglesabout the connector link- `part 2a, .both parts of the fold being firmlyconnected by means of a rivet or other suit- This is however notabsolutely necessary.

TheV spikes 3b, 30 formed of flat material `and in this case placedimmediately next to the link 2 offer the advantage of great rigidity..For the purpose of fastening a tree 6 to its stake 5, the spike carriedby the connector link 2 of the strap 1 is firmly pressed into the stake5. This can bedone without difficulty as the plane of the metal spike isparallel to the grain of the wood. Owing to its plane surface, thevspike3, 3?), 3c which has been pressed into the grain of the wooden stake 5cannot turn in the wood. ,The tubular fabric is then moved into theproper positionon thev strap, and the free end of the strap put throughthe link 2 (Fig. 5) and bent backwards, where it can be lockedl by amovable'r ring or other suitable locking member (not shown in thedrawings) if regarded necessary.v Where quick growing of the tree may bepresumed, it is advisable to omit this ring, enabling the kgrowing treeto gradually bend back the loop, preventing damage to itself. The strapsdescribed above serve mainly for fastening young trees, e. g., forhighgrown berry-trees and bushes, roses, vines etc., whereas the strapsdescribed hereinafter are intended for trees with large, heavy tops.

In place of a link 2 a looped stirrup connector of approximately S-shape(Figs. 8 and 11) may be employed. The free ends 2d of this stirrup,being continuations of the parallel limbs 20, are prolonged nearly up tothe middle of the centre bar 2?) and issue into flattened spurs orspikes 3d bent back at right angles. The parts 2b, 2C, 2d form aU-shaped .loop at each end of the strap. vWhilst in Fig. 8 the parallellimbs 20 are at right angles to the' centre bar 25, allowing two strapsl to be fixed at different levels and without interfering with oneanother, Fig. 11 shows a construction `where both limbs 2c lie at thesame height, there being in this case only one be Vreadilyunderstoodthat such a connection will be exceedingly firm. Any movement of thetree 6 aboutV its prop 5 as generally possible with known .tying-meansis impossible. In such cases where it is only desired to draw the treeupto vits stake, a looped connector stirrup according to Fig. 11vwill beused to advantage, same being easily bent to the right shape from thestirrup shown in Fig. 8. If such a stirrup is used as shown in Fig. 10,then the advantage will bev gained that the stirrup, owing to the`gradually increasing diameter of the tree, will be able t0 follow themovement, i. e., it will bend about its centre part resting on therounding of the stake 5 and carrying the spikes 3d.V In the same way theloops 1?) on thelimbs 2e will give way to some extent.

If it is desired to straighten a tree, i. e., to force a piece ofcrooked growth between two tyings performed according to Fig. 9, then itis of advantagev to employ instead of a link a U-shaped stirrup loop V2ewith spikes 3e according to Figs. 12 and 13. .The fastening is performedin the'same way as with the separate straps of the connection inFig. 9.

It will easily be recognized that the contrivance provides a'most simpleand cheap ymeans for the purpose, and that it may easily be adapted toall requirements.

Fig. 14 shows a construction in which the band is passed about a treeand the ends of the band brought together, arranged to bear against oneside of the stake and passaged through a looped (U-shaped) connectorlink or staple and then bent back upon themselves, as shown. Thisarrangement makes a firm connection while permitting slippage of thestrap to accommodate itself to the growth of the tree, as will bereadily understood.

Claims:

1. A device for binding the stem of a tree to a stake comprising areadily bendable metal strap, a substantially S-shaped wire connectoradapted tobe arranged to bear against the stake and having each of itslooped ends provided with a spike projectingtherefrom to enter the same,said strap adapted to be passed about the tree stem and adapted to bepassed about the tree stem. and

having a slip connection With the connector, and a spike on each endofthe connector adapted to be driven into the stake for fastening theconnector thereto. 3. A device for binding the stem of a tree to a stakecomprising a connector adapted vto bear upon a. stake and having' loopedend p0rtions7 a metal strap adapted t0 be passed about the tree stem`and having its ends en- 10 gaged with the looped ends of. the connectorand bentbackwardly upon themselves, and a spur on the connector to Venter the stake and fasten the connectorV thereto.v I

4:. A device .for binding the stem of a` tree y 15 to'a stake consistingofa pair of members,

one of which formsa readily bendable tree supporting strap andthe otherof vWhich forms a Vconnector for the` ends of said strap, f Y one ofsaid members being provided lWith a flattened spur extending from themember to enter a stake and 'arrangedtransverselyV of the longitudinalcenter line of the mem? ber from Which said spur extends.

OTTOMAR WEBER.

